Sheung Wan Civic Centre｜Pants Theatre: Playreading 2026 - Sheung Wan Civic Centre Venue Partnership Scheme

Description

【Read-aholics Rise】2026 — Drama x Music

Read-through Theatre

A Brutal Beautiful Death

A Brutal Beautiful Death is an original musical theatre production by Wu Hoi Fai and Sun Mak Hoi, following their previous work Gweilo. In 1937, under the walls of Beijing, the body of a young Caucasian girl was found. Her abdomen had been cut open and her organs removed. The girl was Pamela Werner, daughter of the British ambassador to China at the time. The case shocked Beijing, and the manhunt revealed the lower-class Chinese and foreign circles in Beijing at that time, a mysterious and enchanting world like opium smoke. However, the Sino-Japanese War broke out soon after, and the case became a century-old mystery, attracting the attention of Wu Hoi Fai, the artistic director of our troupe. Feeling the dramatic nature of the case, he decided to adapt it into a new musical theatre production with Sun Mak Hoi. This time, we will hold a staged reading to gather audience feedback before further developing the production.

Playwrights: Sun Mak Hoi and Wu Hoi Fai

Director: Wu Hoi Fai

Read-through Cast: Kit Po Chung, Liu Suk Fan, Cheung Pui Tak, Cha Kwok Lam, Wong Man Kit, Lo Man Yuet, Cheung Cheuk Hang*

Indecent by Paula Vogel

Paula Vogel is a renowned American playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with How I Learned to Drive (performed in Hong Kong as Minor Girl's Driving Lesson). She is also a veteran playwriting teacher at Brown University and Yale University, nurturing many young talents in American theatre. Indecent, her 2017 work, is based on a true case in the American theatre industry. In 1907, Jewish playwright Sholem Asch wrote God of Vengeance, a play that received great acclaim during its European tour. However, when it was brought to the American stage, a scene depicting the romantic relationship between two women caused an uproar, leading to the play's ban and the arrest of the entire production staff.

Indecent was well-received when it premiered in 2017, with the script being nominated for multiple awards, including the Tony Awards, Drama League Awards, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Our troupe previously performed a read-through of this play in 2020, but due to pandemic restrictions, we could only accommodate a small audience. Therefore, we will be performing another read-through, hoping that more audience members can share this wonderful masterpiece.

Playwright: Paula Vogel

Director and Translator: Wu Hoi Fai

Read-through Cast: Kit Po Chung, Liu Suk Fan, Cheung Pui Tak, Cha Kwok Lam, Wong Man Kit, Tam On Ting, Cheung Cheuk Hang*

Produced by special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials supplied by WILLIAM MORRIS ENDEAVOR ENTERTAINMENT, LLC.

Supplementary Information

*The Arts Internship Matching Scheme 2024/25 is funded by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council

Cantonese read-through, no designated seating

Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes per session, no intermission.

The Hong Kong Arts Development Council supports freedom of artistic expression, and the content of this programme does not reflect the views of the Council.

The organiser reserves the right to change the programme and performers under special circumstances.